“It’s essential to the franchise of the games”: Jonathan Nolan and Todd Howard’s Most Controversial Fallout Decision Paid Off With the Show
Jonathan Nolan and Sir Christopher Nolan have quite literally revolutionized the entertainment industry. While the last project they collaborated on was 2017’s Interstellar, the Memento Mori writer has successfully created the sci-fi series Person of Interest and co-created the series Westworld.
As far as the world of adaptations is concerned, some popular games such as Super Mario Bros. and Mortal Kombat have been adapted into films, and successfully so. Another game that has been brought to the big screen is Fallout, and luckily, it is being helmed by the game directors Todd Howard and Jonathan Nolan.
Todd Howard and Jonathan Nolan Proved Critics Wrong
Based on the eponymous role-playing video game franchise, Fallout is a post-apocalyptic drama series created by Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet. The series broke the stereotype of adaptations by telling a story that is completely different from any of the video games released so far.
This was a double-edged sword. On one hand, it could be a refreshing new take on the franchise, and on the other, the deviation from the source material could repulse the fans. The announcement of the show having a new story made the latter seem more likely because fans were not too supportive of this idea.
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Even so, Jonathan Nolan and Todd Howard moved forward with their decision, and their vision for the show gave the desired results as it gained critical acclaim upon its release. Reflecting on this in an interview with HeyUGuys, Nolan said:
“It was one of the very first things Todd and I and I talked about when we first sat down with each other. And for me, that idea and it is essential to the franchise of the games.”
Nolan further explained that every game has its own story and characters. He also said that the mere fact that they got the chance to adapt the series made them lucky.
Todd Howard Has the Same Sentiments as Jonathan Nolan Regarding Fallout‘s Original Story
While Howard has worked as an executive producer on the show, Nolan has directed the first three episodes of the show and also executive produced it. When it comes to the original story of the show, the video game designer shares Nolan’s sentiments.
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In an interview with Filmfare, Howard explained why they chose an original story instead of an existing game:
“Well, it’s just how I view the franchise – each game is a chapter, everything we do is a chapter that moves the timeline a little bit, is its own unique thing. As a fan too, I would want to see something new, that’s set in the world of Fallout.”
Howard said that doing so also gives everyone a chance to witness what other respected and trusted creatives can achieve when given the opportunity.
Fallout is available for streaming on Prime Video.
